[ RACE.2026 ] 🇨🇱 Santiago, Chile
Maratón de Santiago Training Plan
26 April 2026
Santiago runs through the Chilean capital in April - autumn there - on a flat, fast course with the Andes standing at the end of the avenues. Southern-hemisphere runners get their Valencia; visitors get a PB course with a mountain backdrop.
What the course is actually like
The route tours central Santiago - the civic quarter around the Plaza de la Constitucion, avenues along the Mapocho river, and the Providencia district - on a profile that is flat to gently rolling, with nothing sustained enough to plan around. The city sits at a little over 500 metres of altitude: high enough to mention, far too low to matter.
Wide avenues and long straights give the course its speed; the Andes, visible down the cross-streets on clear autumn days, give it its postcard. As South American marathons go, it is the settled, rhythm-friendly one - the tactical opposite of racing at Bogota's altitude.
How to train for it
Standard fast-course preparation applies: goal-pace volume, even-split discipline, strength for the repetitive flat load. The April date inverts the northern calendar - Chileans build through summer heat for an autumn race, while northern visitors arrive off their winter base, usually fitter than they feel.
If you are travelling from the northern hemisphere, respect the small things: the seasons flip, the race-morning temperature will resemble your October, and jet lag from most of Europe or North America is mild to none - one of the quiet advantages of racing down a longitude instead of across them.
Weather and what to expect on the day
April is Santiago's autumn: typically cool mornings warming to mild, comfortable days - reliable racing weather, with the summer's heat gone and the winter's valley smog not yet settled. Clear editions serve the mountain views the race is photographed for.
The event is the centrepiece of Chile's running calendar and the field skews motivated - expect organised pace groups and serious club sections. Run it like the fast course it is: nothing about the day should surprise a runner who prepared for even splits and an honest goal.
Which distance are you running?
Official site: www.aims-worldrunning.org/races/690.html
// SAMPLE BUILD
What a 12-week Marathon build looks like
A typical outline for Maratón de Santiago. Your actual plan is built around your level, schedule and goal time - this shows the shape of the training.
This is a sample - your plan adapts to your level, schedule and goal, free. Build my plan
Not sure what pace to aim for? Work it out with the free pace calculator
Want to know how the plan is built before you start? How the free AI plan generator works
In-depth 2026 race guides
// HOW IT WORKS
How Pace Builder works
Tell us about you in 2 minutes. We generate a 4-week plan that adapts as you log your runs and counts down to your race day.
Build my plan